Page 44 of Enchant the Dawn

At midday, Dominic rose and dressed before heading out in search of the Knight who had been sent to hunt him down. He scoured all New Orleans—every street, every hotel, every dive—with no results. Of course, the Knights had those blasted invisibility cloaks, which made the task darn near impossible.

By dusk, he was ready to give up the search. Maybe the guy wasn’t staying in the city. Of course, the hunter wasn’t his only problem. There was also the matter of the warlock, Jasper.

And then there was Claret. Of the three, she troubled him the most. If the Knight or the warlock captured him, they would deliver him to the Elder Knight, who wanted him alive. If Claret caught him unawares . . . it was something he didn’t want to think about. She could do far worse than kill him. She would imprison him and feed on him at her leisure. She had done it to his father, for a short time. Quill had spared his son the gory details, but Dominic could easily imagine the horror of losing his freedom, being held in a cage charged with magic, being fed on at Claret’s whim for decades, perhaps centuries. It was a fate worse than death.

When a clock chimed in the distance, he put all thoughts of hunters out of his mind. He would worry about them later.

For now, he wanted to see Maddy.

* * *

Raoul 29 followed the vampire through the city to the residential area. He smiled as the bloodsucker hurried up a red-brick walkway to the door of a lovely old home. He knocked once and the door was opened by a beautiful young woman.

A shudder of distaste rippled through Raoul as he imagined the vampire leaning over the woman’s neck, drinking her blood, defiling her with his very presence.

Under the protection of his cloak, he ghosted up the stairs and turned the knob. The door opened on well-oiled hinges, but when he tried to enter, an invisible barrier prevented him.

Vampire magic, he thought irritably. Damn the man.

He circled the house, but he was repelled at every turn. He would have to wait and take the bloodsucker when he left.

With that in mind, he settled down on the grass beneath a live oak tree. He had all the patience of a lion stalking its prey. And, like the lion, he would emerge victorious.

* * *

“Dominic!” After closing the door, Maddy threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad to see you!”

He grinned as he pulled her closer. “How glad?”

“This glad,” she exclaimed. Going up on her tiptoes, she kissed him.

He cupped the back of her head in his palm and deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping across her lower lip, dipping inside.

Maddy clung to him as wave after wave of pleasure swept through her. Lord, but his kisses were like dynamite.

She was breathless, her knees shaky, when he lifted his head.

“I’m glad to see you, too,” he said, grinning.

“I think I need a cold shower,” she muttered, fanning her face with her hand.

“I’ll wash your back.”

“I don’t think that would cool me off much,” she said. “Probably set off the fire alarm.”

Dominic laughed, thinking he’d never felt so happy, so free. Sure, trouble lurked in the city, but here, with Maddy, nothing else seemed to matter.

With his arm around her waist, they strolled into the living room and sank down on the sofa.

He coiled a lock of her hair around his finger. “Do you want to go out tonight?”

“Not really. I have everything I need right here.”

“Damn, girl, of all the women I’ve known, you’re the first to say what she really thinks.”

“Am I? Just how many girls have you known?”

He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “Not that many.”

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